Innocentius
by Kama Kounsolour
Summary: A new guild has formed and a team is sent to investigate them. Natsu, Grey, Erza, Lucy, and Happy are all amazed at what they see from this seemingly new guild and end up in conflict with a similar enemy. At the same time, Gray begins to open up to Natsu.
1. A New Quest

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The day had finally come to an end as Natsu walked towards the guild with Happy flying next to him and Lucy more crawling behind him than walking. Lucy looked towards the red head and had no idea how he managed to have so much energy all the time, same with Happy. The guild finally came into view when Lucy heard a familiar shout.

"Hey you guys!" they all turned to see Gray running up to them, his shirt unbuttoned revealing his tattoo and abs like usual. How he did that all without thinking, Lucy would never know. Natsu turned to meet Gray.

"What's wrong?" Gray finally stopped in front of them, his shirt flying off in the process.

"Erza said she wants to see you and me immediately." Natsu's face turns a shade of green and hobbles after Gray who was yelling at him to hurry up. Lucy and Happy, left in the dust of the three second conversation which had just transpired in front of them, simply continued towards the guild in silence. The sooner she was given her money and allowed to go home, the better.

(Inside the guild)

Natsu landed in a chair with Gray sitting next to him and Erza sitting across from them. They both knew she was serious because she didn't even greet them with the normal serious tone she usually gave.

"We have received some news from the council and the master wants us to investigate it." Natsu leapt to his feet, a new vigor instilled into his body once more.

"Alright! When do we start?"

"We start tomorrow morning. We need Gray on the team as well along with Lucy. Happy can come along like usual." Natsu pumped his fist into the air and fire slid from his mouth in excitement.

"Awesome!" Gray's monotone face never shifts.

"What is our mission?"

"There is a new guild called Innocentius. It seems to be made up of about 30 individuals and no one has really heard about them. All we know is that they have accomplished several high ranking missions. They seem to have several VERY powerful mages so we need to confirm their identity within the magical community. Gray nods and stands up, his pants now gone, before heading over to one of the tables to relax. Juvia immediately follows Gray to the table and sits next to him like a lost puppy. Natsu leaps onto the table.

"We are gonna show these guys how Fair…" before Natsu could finish his sentence, Erza grabbed his hair and pulled him down from the table. The tears slowly came from Natsu's eyes.

"We are not going to start anything. We are simply going to introduce ourselves to them. Now go get some sleep." Natsu slowly nodded and sulked out of the guild towards Lucy's apartment.

(The next morning)

After an event filled morning of Lucy yelling at Natsu to get out of her bed, they all arrived at the front of the guild, ready for their adventure. On the way out of the city, Natsu's stomach ached with hunger and they ended up stopping for food before they even managed to leave the city. When they finally were out and in the wilderness all seemed normal for a good amount of time, having chosen to walk in order to prevent Natsu from getting weak. Natsu then felt that he sensed someone was watching them and motioned for Happy to go up and see if he could find anyone. Happy went up into the air but motioned that he could not see anyone. As the five of them continued along the road, the feeling soon passed onto Lucy, Gray, and even Erza. They all knew that it was still a day until they reached Innocentius but they also knew that the guild would probably be scouting out any investigators. Finally Natsu couldn't take it anymore.

"Whoever is out there, come out and show yourself!" There was a silence as Natsu's voice echoed throughout the wilderness. From this silence emerged the sound of footsteps. Everyone turned to see a short stocky man of about 20 wearing simple black pants, a black shirt, and a camouflage jacket. The man's boots scraped against the dirt path as he approached them, his hands in the pockets of his jacket. Erza walks out to confront him.

"Who are you and why have you been following us?" The man's short brown hair was ruffled by the wind and his face gave off a hardened complexion, making him seem older than he was.

"I am Josef of Innocentius. Why are you here, Erza Scarlet?" everyone cringed at his frankness. Erza approached the man and they stopped right in front of each other. No normal person ever addressed her in such a manner. The wind picked up as the two stared at each other. After several seconds of stillness, Erza extended her hand to him.

"We are here to see how your guild is doing. We must ask to meet your guild master and he will officially announce your guild to the rest of the world." Josef does not extend his hand to Erza's, in fact he does not even take his hands out of his pockets.

"We are not the kind to be talked to as if we were servants. We shall not be treated in such a manner."Erza's face went from light to stern.

"We are not asking. We are telling you to take us to your guild master." Josef's face never changes.

"And I am politely telling you no. I am telling YOU to turn around and go back to your guild." Erza's withdraws her hand.

"I will do as I am ordered." Josef stood in their path, "If you do not move I will be forced to subdue you."

"I'm afraid that is impossible, Erza Scarlet."

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	2. Josef VS Fairy Tail

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The path was silent as Erza and Josef glared at each other, the electricity between the two of them able to be cut with a knife. Erza held out her hand and a sword formed in it but Josef seemed unimpressed.

"The infamous Erza Scarlet and her requipping abilities." Erza thrust her sword forward and it impaled Josef in the throat. Josef's face never changed as he suddenly melted into clay and seeped into the ground. Everyone looked around to try and locate Josef and Gray saw him in a tree, hands still in his pockets.

"Hole." Said Josef. They all looked at Josef strangely before they suddenly felt the ground beneath them began to crumble. Looking down, they saw the word HOLE written in the ground before a large whole formed from the loose earth and they all fell in. As they rose to their feet, Natsu was the first to speak his mind.

"What the hell?" written on the walls of the inside of the hole was the word FLOOD. In a matter of seconds, from the words gushed a powerful stream of water and it collided into all of them. The sunlight had suddenly been blocked out as a large rock formed over the hole and trapped them in as the water rapidly filled the hole. Erza gritted her teeth. Josef was good. He was very good.

"Enough of this!" Erza grabbed Natsu, who was now up to his neck in water. They both knew what to do and began to punch the rock as hard as they could. Gray quickly joined them but seemed to be getting nowhere for there was no way to strengthen the attacks. In an act of desperation, Erza requipped a large sword and swung with all of her might. The rock began to chip as the water completely covered them. Without waiting another second, Gray aimed his hands and screamed under water.

"Ice-make Lance!" the water almost froze as the ice slammed into the rock and shattered it. The water from the hole spilled out from the top and they all struggled out of the hole. Natsu leapt from the water, shivering from the ice dropping the water's temperature, and looked around for Josef. Josef was seen standing in the middle of the road about 200 feet from the hole, hands still in his pockets. Gray walked up to Natsu.

"He is a user of Solid Script." Said Natsu. Gray simply nodded.

"You take the right side and I will take the right side. He cannot deflect us both." Natsu grinned and flames burst from his body.

"COME ON!" yelled Natsu and they each charged from a different direction. Josef glanced at them before raising his hands out of his pockets. Written on each palm was the word SHOCKWAVE. Josef muttered something under his breath and suddenly a powerful shockwave blasted from each of Josef's palms. Natsu and Gray were hit full force and sent flying backwards before crashing to the ground next to Erza and Lucy. Happy rushed to Natsu's aid and he struggled back to his feet. Josef swung his arm and the word ACID formed in the air in deep purple letters. The word formed into a deep purple substance and flew at the group. Before anyone could react, a wall of black formed in front of them and suddenly turned into a stone wall. The acid connected with the stone wall and instantly was melted away by the strong substance. Everyone looked in the direction that the attack had come from and saw a woman around 19 years old with long blond hair. She had a thin paintbrush in her hand and she leapt down to Josef.

"Josef we told you to stay at the guild." Josef rolled his eyes at her and turned around, putting his hands back in his pockets. The blond woman turned to the group. "I am SO sorry. He really dislikes outsiders."

"Well we can see that," said Natsu. The blond woman smiled and drew with her paintbrush. The ink formed into a dog and it leapt into the woods after Josef, who had already vanished into the trees.

"My name is Bev. I am also from Innocentius. We would be happy to introduce you to our guild master." Erza let out a deep breath and everyone relaxed. Bev waved for them to follow her and everyone followed, rubbing their bruises and shivering in the cold breeze.

As they moved through the woods, Gray approached Bev and started up a conversation. He had been very curious about this guild he had never heard about before and intended to find out as much as he could.

"How long have you guys been around?" Bev gave off a quick smile.

"We have been around for probably six months now as a guild but we have known each other for years. Our master is the one who brought us together and gave us a home and taught us to use our powers effectively."

"Why didn't you guys go to other guilds when you found out you were mages? I'm sure that they would have taken you in."

"We were not aware that such a thing was possible. None of us were exactly educated when we were brought in. We just heard that our Master was taking in people who did not understand their powers and give them a place to live." Gray somewhat understood this. How these people didn't know about the acceptance of regular guilds astonished him but he wasn't going to argue the fact. He looked back to see Erza's complextion never changed. After a few minutes they all walk into a grove and see a large black ink portal. Bev turned around to them and smiled.

"Just hop in and we will be at the guild." Natsu was nervous but he took a deep breath and approached the black portal.

(Please review. It will start out slow but pick up once the plot is settled)


	3. Freedom

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Natsu and the others looked at each other unknowingly and the finally entered the black portal. The feeling of the wet ink encompassed Natsu as he felt as if he was falling. His stomach seemed to drop into his feet before suddenly he saw he was in a large room with table scattered throughout and numerous people sitting at them in a relaxed manner. Natsu looked around the room as everyone looked back at him. Gray, Erza, Happy and Bev all showed up behind him a few seconds later before the portal melted onto the floor and evaporated into the air. Bev smiled and walked in front of them.

"These are mages from Fairy Tail. They have been sent to check up on us." The room was silent as Bev seemed to be the only kind person in the room. Josef sat in the far right corner of the room with his hands in his pocket and eyes closed.

"Erza Scarlet! I have heard so much about you." The group followed this voice and saw a middle aged man with graying hair. On his mouth was a graying beard and he wore a white karate gi with a black belt. He had a kind look about his face and gave off a strong appearance. While he was an older man, his body seemed stronger than any other Natsu had seen. "I would like to offer a sincere apology for Josef's actions. Josef!" The booming voice seemed to cause a stir and Josef was immediately at the older man's side. "You will apologize immediately!" Josef looked over to the group of mages with a face showing little emotion but there was a hint of fright in his eyes.

"I apologize," the man stared at Josef and he seemed to squirm, "I apologize to all of you for my actions." The older man smiled.

"That is much better, Josef." Erza approached the older man.

"Are you the guild master of Innocentius?" She asked in a polite manner.

"Yes I am. I am Master Silva." Erza bowed to show her respects and the others followed.

"It is an honor to meet you Master Silva," Erza and the others rose from their bows, "We have been sent to request you approach the council and register your guild so as not to become registered as a Dark Guild." Master Silva's grin slowly lowered.

"I do understand your purpose for coming here but I do not appreciate someone being sent to spy on me and my guild."

"We are not spying on your guild we are simply asking you to register yourselves as an official guild."

"So because I have not registered with the council we will be registered as a Dark Guild and hunted down like dogs," Erza did not respond, "We have done nothing except what every other official guild has done. I have seen how the council handles the major problems and I do not agree with them. If you must label us as a Dark Guild we will not hesitate in defending ourselves." Natsu looked around at the guild members, taking in their faces. There were several members clearly only around 12 years old. Many of the members seemed to be in their teens and early 20's.

"I am sorry Master Silva but we must request you do so. We would not wish harm to fall to your guild."

"You mean harm which all of you would place on us." Silence resounded through the room as Erza could not find words to refute that. Master Silva turned his back on them and stood next to a young boy with short blond hair and deep blue eyes. He ruffled the boy's hair and this made a cute smile spread across the boy's face, "These are my children, just like you are to Makarov, and I will not let anything, including you, harm them." None of the Fairy Tail mages moved. Two more mages from Innocentius walked up and stood next to their master, each around 18 years old. The first was stocky with muscle and had a black faux hawk. The second had gelled hair and lean muscles on his skinny frame.

"We will not go down without a fight," said the stocky one. Josef and Bev walked up and joined the two other mages at Master Silva's side. Gray and Natsu looked at Erza, awaiting a response from her. Finally Erza managed words.

"As I said before…I must request…"

"We are not going anywhere," said the mage with gelled hair. Erza held her hand out and a sword appeared in it. Before Erza could swing it, the young blond boy had leapt from his chair and touched her sword, it breaking into many pieces. Erza was motionless as the boy landed in front of her, her armor shattering from her body. Natsu leapt forward with his flames but saw Josef swing his hand and the word BINDING came out and charged him. Natsu was caught by the word and his arms and legs slammed together before he crashed to the ground. Gray readied his hands to attack but Bev swung her paintbrush and bindings formed on his hands and Gray was trapped. Lucy was too afraid to move as the three best mages in the team were defeated nearly instantly.

"We are not here simply because we think having a guild is a good thing to do. We are here because we have nowhere else to go," said the stocky ninja.

"This is our home, and we will defend it against anyone who tries to take it from us," said Josef. Erza was still motionless and looking at the young blond boy who had disarmed her completely with a simple touch.

"Leave Master Silva alone," said the young boy.

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	4. Hot Springs and Dragon Beds

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Erza, now only in her regular clothing, was in too much shock to move. She knew that she had orders to bring these people to the council, but everything they said made sense, and they proved to powerful even for her to take in all at once. Their power was raw and strong. The young blond boy was even more impressive with his control of such a seemingly powerful magic. She shuddered to think what Master Silva was capable of. Erza closed her eyes and let out a deep breath.

"Alright. We will not turn you in. However, if you would permit us, may we stay and see how things are done around here?" Master Silva's smile returned.

"Of course you may. Erza Scarlet is a welcome guest to our guild. I do apologize for what little Yuri did to your armor and sword. He was simply defending us."

"I understand, Master Silva. I can get new armor whenever I please. For now I think a rest would be appreciated."

"Why of course. We have several beds you could use." Everyone turned around before Natsu's voice resonated through the room.

"I'D KIND OF LIKE TO BE UNTIED NOW!" Master Silva let out a laugh and turned to Josef.

"Let him go, Josef." Josef waved his hand and the word UNBIND formed in the air before hitting Natsu. His arms and legs were instantly freed and Bev removed the bindings on Gray's wrists. Both got to their feet and rubbed their sore joints. "Before any of you sleep, we invite you to our hot springs." Natsu and Happy's eyes went wide with excitement.

"You have hot springs!" Master Silva let out a bellow of laughter.

"Why of course we do. How else can one relax with such a stressful time?" It is right out back. Cevan could you show them the way?" The skinny ninja with gelled hair nodded and motioned for them to follow him. "Naton, could you be as kind as to set the beds for our guests?" The stocky ninja with the faux hawk nodded and went to the back rooms. The group followed Cevan and walked through the halls of the Innocentius Guild Hall. It was simple yet inviting with oak floors and walls which were covered with various tapestries. A dragon seemed to be the insignia of Innocentius and this seemed to intrigue Natsu to no end. The lavish halls seemed to encase them all in warmth that they only ever felt at their own guild. After several minutes they were outside in the warm breeze to see the bubbling water of the hot springs. Wihtout a seconds hesitation, Natsu ripped his vest and pants off before leaping into the waters and getting hot water all over Lucy.

"OWWWW! Natsu!" Lucy quickly jumped after Natsu, who swam away as fast as he could. Gray, already stripped of his pants, sat on the side of the water, the hot pool up to his knees. After a few seconds, the warmth seemed to die as his legs acclimated to the temperature. Gray slid all of the way in, air filling his boxers and causing a large bubble to send hot air into his face. Gray invited the warmth before suddenly feeling someone slam into him. He opened his eyes and saw Natsu trying to get away from Lucy still and Happy pulling at his hair.

"Natsu! Get off of me!" Gray pushed Natsu on the chest but felt his hand slip on the wet chest muscles and slipped all the way down to Natsu's abs. Gray quickly pulled away before staying motionless from the accidental action. Natsu didn't seem to notice as Lucy finally got her hands on him and began to choke him out. Gray, still motionless, tried to keep his mind from going crazy. While he was used to nudity, he was not accustomed to touch. The feeling of another person's wet skin was something he had never truly experienced before. Why was it Natsu? The loud and obnoxious mage had something about him that Gray always found intriguing. Gray shook his head free of those thoughts and went back to enjoying the hot water. Looking to his right, Gray noticed a nude Erza standing in the water. His eyes went wide before covering them.

"Are you guys having a good time?" Everyone stopped their actions and looked up to see the young blond boy, named Yuri, standing on the edge of the water in his bathing suit. Despite being young he seemed very fit and his big grin was spread almost ear to ear. He leapt into the water and caused a big splash. Gray was nearly swept from his sitting spot but managed to laugh as the young boy broke the surface and spit water on Natsu. Lucy laughed and Natsu yelled at him. The boy leapt at Natsu and the two began to wrestle. Natsu was caught by surprise as the little boy, like a little spider, swung around his arms and put Natsu into a triangle choke hold. Natsu fell under water and there was no movement for several seconds before Natsu broke the surface, coughing up water. Yuri broke the surface next to him, cheering.

"I beat you, pink hair!" Natsu turned towards him.

"Who are you calling Pink hair?" Yuri smiled and swam over to Erza. Erza lifted the boy up and he let out a cheer before being dropped back into the water.

As everyone dried off from the hot springs, they were led to their beds. Natsu and Happy collapsed to their bed and instantly fell asleep. Gray slipped into his bed which was next to Natsu and looked over. For a moment, even just a small moment, he felt like he wanted to be in that bed as well.

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	5. A Fable of Fists

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Gray woke up in the middle of the night to feel the cool night breeze against his bare chest. His back ached from lying down too long and he sat up, the cracks from his back echoed throughout the room. Looking over at Natsu to see he was dead asleep, Happy sleeping on his bare chest. Natsu's loud snores tore through the room like a screaming child. Gray, unable to take the loud snoring any longer, got up and walked out of the room. As he walked through the carpeted halls of the Innocentius he could feel the soft fur support his aching feet. Entering the large grand hall of the guild, he saw that it was deserted except for a single pair of people in the shadows. Looking closer, he saw that it was Josef and Yuri. Yuri was asleep with his head on Josef's leg and Josef's steel green eyes seemed to pierce Gray from across the room. Gray slowly approached the stern gaze of Josef until he was only a few feet away from them. The feeling of Josef's stare managed to send a shiver down Gray's spine, a feeling he was almost alien to. Gray noticed the camouflage jacket was covering Yuri like a blanket and Josef slowly moved away so as not to wake him. Without his jacket, Josef seemed quite skinny in just his black t-shirt. Josef motioned with his head towards the outside and Gray nodded. They both went outside and Josef turned around and met Gray's face barely an inch away.

"What are you trying to prove by making us join? What have you personally to gain from this?" asked Josef.

"We have come with orders. I follow mine just like Erza followers hers." Josef's warm breath could be felt on Gray's face. It was then he realized just how short Josef was, his face coming up to Gray's neck. Josef finally stepped back and slid his feet into a fighting stance.

"No magic." Josef said simply. Gray let off a grin before taking his own stance. Gray leapt forward and threw several punches which Josef dodged with ease before planting his own fist into Gray's jaw, "I see how you look at him." Gray's eyes went wide by this statement before his stomach was met with a fierce front kick by Josef, causing him to keel over.

"What did you say?"

"You are not as sly as you think." Gray blocked a second kick by Josef and slammed Josef in the chin with a fierce uppercut, causing him to stumble back.

"You have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh yes I do," said Josef before he sent a flurry of punches which Gray struggled to block. Gray blocked an overhead strike and then hurled Josef over him. Josef flew forward and rolled out of the impact and went right back to his feet.

"Who are you talking about?" Gray leapt and went for a 360 spinning back kick but it was avoided and Josef slammed both fists into Gray's chest, sending him to the ground.

"Your little pink haired friend. I've seen how you look at him. Your stone gazes cannot hide what I see." Gray slowly got up and went for a punch but was easily blocked and Josef turned it into a chicken wing arm lock, "You are slipping, Gray," Josef teased into his ear. Gray struggled to hit Josef but could not reach him. Sitting down on Gray's back, Josef yanked the lock completely into place and pain shot through Gray's shoulder, "You should tell him." Gray was once again shocked.

"What?" Josef twisted the lock a little further and the pain was almost cold as it shot through the left side of his torso.

"You should tell him how you feel," said Josef, his voice surprisingly soft from all that they had experienced together. Gray managed to twist out of the lock and went for Josef's throat but was caught and it was turned into a wrist lock. Gray let out a yelp of pain as Josef flipped Gray in the air and Gray landed harshly on his back and Josef turned it into an arm bar. Gray, unable to move as his joints were too harshly twisted, tapped out and Josef released the locks. Gray sat up as Josef went to one knee in front of him.

"Why are you telling me this stuff?" asked Gray, "You hate me and what we have come here to do."

"No. I do not hate you. I simply hate what you have been sent here to do. You have not yet understood what this guild means to us. This is why I do not trust Erza Scarlet. She has a reputation of doing whatever it takes to accomplish the mission."

"I won't deny that," said Gray, "but we do need to come to a sort of agreement." The glare of Josef was evident but it was not as hateful as it had been prior.

"I understand this. But we will not join the council. That is something that you must come to terms with."

"Why do you hate the council so much?" asked Gray. This caused Josef to sit down next to Gray and look back towards the guild where Yuri slept.

"They were responsible for Yuri almost getting killed." Gray was unsure what to think, "They are the ones who sent the Rune Knights to eliminate some rogue mages. These were Yuri's parents."

"Why were they rogue mages?"

"They did not want to get involved with the wars of the guilds and council. They wanted a simple life yet the council could not let that be. They demanded allegiance or to be eliminated. The parents were going to join but the council did not want to listen. I'm sure they wanted something to tell to their people. To tell them something about having destroyed some evil rogue mages. The Rune Knights came and slaughtered both of them."

"How did Yuri escape?"

"He killed the Rune Knights sent for him." Gray's eyes went wide.

"He killed members of the council's army?"

"Yes. Twenty three to be exact."

"Twenty three Rune Knights. That is quite an accomplishment."

"I found him in the woods several weeks after the incident. He was almost dead from malnutrition."

"Why are you telling me all of this?" asked Gray. Josef looked up at the skies.

"If we did go to war against you and the council, all of us would surely be destroyed eventually, except maybe for Master Silva. I do not want Yuri to suffer the same fate as his parents. I guess if I could get one of you to understand then maybe we could have a chance of survival."

"And what of me and Natsu?"

"Is that his name? You ask why I concern myself with it?"

"Yes."

"Because it's clear he thinks of you as well."

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	6. Fire and Ice

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The night went on as Gray continued to sit in the grass outside of the guild. Since the guild was in the middle of the forest, there was little to no outside interference and the stars were out in full bloom. There was a peach blossom tree in the center and Gray caught a falling flower. The color was beautiful to him and he let out a soft exhale as he stood up. It had been about an hour since Josef had left to give him time to think. Gray entered the guild and walked back to his bedroom where Natsu still was snoring wildly. With a soft touch, Gray placed the flower on Natsu's side table and then went into his bed to get a little sleep, despite the fact his heart was pounding like crazy.

The following morning came in what felt like seconds as Gray opened his eyes and saw Natsu was already up and out of the room along with Happy. He looked and saw that the flower was not on the side table. Gray's heart would not stop pounding in his chest as he stood up from his bed and walked out to the grand hall. He saw Natsu at one of the tables being his messy self when it came to food. Sitting across from him was Yuri and several other younger mages. Sitting at another table was Josef, Naton, and Cevan. Cevan waved Gray over and Gray walked over cautiously. Naton and Cevan were still in their pajama bottoms with simple t-shirts on over them. This seemed much like Fairy Tail in that everyone was rather laid back but different in that everyone lived in their guild here at Innocentius.

Gray walked over to the starving Natsu and avoided flying food as he sat down. Yuri was laughing hysterically at Natsu's eating.

"You are going to die one of these days if you keep it up like this," said Yuri.

"I haven't died yet!" announced Natsu.

"Yeah, yet," said Gray, "Once you get older you will gain so much weight even the flames will be smothered by your skin." Natsu threw Gray a nasty look as Gray laughed with Yuri and the others. Gray finally stopped laughing as Natsu went back to his food. He found himself wondering how Natsu managed to stay in such terrific shape. Even though he originally thought of looking at Natsu as weird, he now just relished it. The skin seemed so soft yet firm under that vest which he wore as a complete tease. What he'd do to just touch that supple skin and run his hands through the soft pink locks on Natsu's head. He wanted to make Natsu his. The thoughts made Gray excited down below but sad in his head. They were fire and ice, complete opposites. Opposites almost never do well together, always combating each other for dominance. Gray found himself slowly shifting his leg until it touched Natsu's but Natsu didn't seem to notice. Gray kept it there for as long as he could.

As breakfast ended, everyone began to go about their days. Gray noticed Natsu going over to the request board. Gray had never noticed the request board until and went over to check it out. Next to Natsu was Yuri, who was also looking up at the board.

"How do you guys accept requests if you are not an official guild?" asked Gray. Behind Gray came a deep voice.

"We accept any request from any of the nearby villagers. Most of them have small things they need help with such as thieves or help with the crop."

"Help with the crop?"

"We mages are not above helping tend the fields," said Master Silva. Gray nodded in agreement and went back to the board. He noticed several requests for sparring partners, field tending, and finding lost items. There was one request which caught Gray's eye. It was a request for the defense of a family heirloom during a party in a nearby village. Turning back to Master Silva, Gray gave him an inquisitive look.

"I noticed this request is actually for tonight. Could I take this request and bring a few of your guild with me? The pay would go right to your guild." Master Silva contemplated it for a few seconds, "We must ask Erza if she finds it would be ok."

"Erza won't mind. She knows it would be mostly harmless." Master Silva gave it a few more seconds of thought before finally giving off his typical smile.

"Then of course you are allowed. I do believe Cevan and Naton took that request. You could join them."

"Are you sure they would like me doing that? It would seem like an invasion of their request."

"Oh they would love help. They are so open for help," said Master Silva with a sense of pride. Looking over to Cevan and Naton, Gray saw almost humorless expressions on their faces.

"Yeah they look ecstatic," said Gray to himself. Master Silva walked over to the two of them and explained the situation. It was clear they had overheard what was happening and they did not seem that pleased.

"Hey Gray! Did I just hear you are going on a mission?" Gray turned around to see Natsu behind him.

"Uh, yeah I'm going with Naton and Cevan to defend something during a party."

"Well then I'm going with. If we are going to have to wait for word from Makarov then I'm going to do something while I wait." Gray sighed and turned to Cevan and Naton. Both just had a sign of surrender on their faces and Natsu threw his fist into the air.

"Hell yeah!" Gray just sighed as Master Silva laughed.

"You two better hurry, Cevan and Naton are leaving within the hour. Pack your stuff." Natsu and Gray rushed to their room and got their bags before heading out the door.

(I know the chapters are relatively short it's just difficult to get much written with my schedule. Please review, it gives me motivation to continue writing the story =])


	7. Mr Tuddles

(Sorry for the delay but several issues came up in my personal life.)

The four mages entered the small village and took a break for some food. Natsu was famished and at rice buns like they were potato chips. Gray simply ignored the flying rice as Cevan and Naton watched in shock, having not seen the display at breakfast that morning. The small things Natsu did always seemed to pile up into a giant wave of chaos. This thought managed to get a smile across Gray's face. If they thought Natsu was chaotic now, just wait for him to fight someone.

"So you two, what type of magic do you use?" asked Gray, who tried to get some sort of friendship started between them all. Naton seemed reluctant to speak at all but Cevan, whose hair resisted the wind and remained completely straight, seemed to open up to the idea.

"How about you tell us what you do first," said Cevan. Gray didn't seem to mind so he let Natsu eat.

"I am a user of Ice Make." Gray saw this spread a smile across both of their faces. He wasn't sure what to think about it.

"What a coincidence," laughed Naton, "We are both Make users ourselves."

"Really?" asked Gray, "What kind do you use?"

"I am Rock Make," said Naton.

"I am Wood Make," said Cevan. Gray looked at the two of them and wondered how well he could handle one or both of them. Naton certainly seemed very serious about how he portrayed himself and what others thought of his power but Cevan seemed to be much looser.

"Well what are you?"

"I am Ice Make," said Gray. This seemed to intrigue both of them.

"Is he a Fire Make?" Gray shook his head.

"No. He's just a Fire Dragon Slayer." Both Naton and Cevan's eyes went wide as they looked at Natsu. He certainly wasn't giving off the impression of an all powerful Dragon killing mage. Gray tried to get off of that subject as quickly as possible, "Are you two always a team when doing missions?"

"Well on most missions it's just us two but we occasionally do get to have the third member of our team." Natsu finally emerged from his ravished state and looked up at them.

"Who is the third member of your team, and why isn't he here?"

"Josef," replied Naton, "and he typically doesn't do missions. He much prefers staying out of the public eye. However, if we do get to do a mission with him, we are unstoppable."

"Really?" asked Natsu, "You guys certainly don't show your strength much."

"We only do it when we need to," said Cevan.

"What can you tell us about Josef?" asked Natsu, "He seems very strong but what exactly does he do?"

"He's solid script," said Cevan, "He's probably one of the best I've ever seen use such magic."

"Natsu, you couldn't see the words he was forming when we fought him?" asked Gray in shock.

"I'll be sure to check out how the water that was used to drown us was formed the next time it happens," Natsu said grumpily.

"How many different types of spells can he use?" asked Gray.

"Even we don't know that. I've seen him do things I didn't think were possible for a Script user."

"So he's basically a long range mage," said Natsu.

"Trust me; you don't want to get in close with him unless you are magically enhanced." Gray could still feel the soreness in his joints and knew that they were telling the truth, "However he does have several glaring weaknesses."

"Such as?" asked Gray.

"His endurance is terrible. He can cast a ton of spells, even high powered ones, but physically he just can't keep up even with normal people."

"He looked physically fit," said Gray.

"Yeah but once you ask him to run, he just says no and walks."

"Was there any reason why he did not come on this mission?"

"He was too tired he said," said Naton.

"So I'm guessing he doesn't want a piece of the payment."

"He never accepts payment and typically just gives his share either back to the person or to one of us."

"Speaking of payment, what exactly are we doing again?" asked Natsu. Gray knew it was a matter of time before Natsu decided to learn what it actually was that they were doing.

"We are defending a family heirloom during a party," said Naton, "and hopefully we won't have to make a mess of things."

"Are there any known enemies of this person?" asked Gray.

"Not that we know of. We just know he's a simple farmer and unlikely to have any enemies."

"Well, then let's go!" shouted Natsu and began to run down the street from where they sat. Naton moved to tell him it was the wrong direction but Gray stopped him.

"He'll come back when he realized we aren't following him. Give him about five minutes and we can head out." This managed to get a smile out of the stern Naton and they waited as they continued to eat. Finally, Natsu came back with a look of embarrassment on his face but he refused to let it get him down.

Within twenty minutes after leaving the restaurant, the four mages arrived at the villa. It was a beautiful house with a red roof and beautiful white walls. There were cherry blossom trees which surrounded the front door and a wonderful scent seemed to encompass them as they entered the building. The inside was even more beautifully decorated than the outside with lavish red furniture and a gorgeous crystal chandelier which hung from the ceiling. Everyone took in the sights but only had a few minutes before they heard a booming voice. Looking towards the voice, they saw a tall and lanky man with an obvious toupee and a tuxedo on.

"Welcome my friends!" the man announced in an incredibly booming voice, "I take it you are the mages I requested from Innocentius?"

"We are," said Naton, "We would like to thank you for giving us such a mission."

"Oh, my friends, I am always happy to help those who need it most." This seemed to sting the Innocentius mages and both Gray and Natsu could see why, "Let me show you to your rooms. The party is not until tomorrow night so you may rest up and I will have absolutely fabulous clothing prepared for all of you. We will just need your measurements taken tonight." All of the mages looked at each other, unsure of what to think of the whole situation, but agreed.

"Of course, Mr…"

"Oh how rude of me! I am Mr. Tuddles!"

"The owner of the house?"

"Who else but me of course?" said Mr. Tuddles. With that, Mr. Tuddles showed everyone to their room and practically pranced away from them to go back about his business. The door closed and everyone's smiles instantly faded.

"Oh god I thought he'd never shut up," said Cevan. It was clear Cevan and Natsu had had similar thoughts.

"Phew," gasped Natsu, "I'm going to take a nice long nap before…" before Natsu could finish his sentence the door to their room was kicked open and slammed against the wall.

"TIME FOR MEASUREMENTS!" shouted Mr. Tuddles, measuring tape wrapped around his arms and body.

(I do apologize once again for the lack of updates lately and the seemingly slow tone of the story. I am doing the best I can with my schedule. Please review and give suggestions if you see it fit.)


	8. Warm Boredom

(Sorry for the delay but several issues came up in my personal life.)

Natsu, Gray, Naton, and Cevan left their room that night for dinner with Mr. Tuddles. They had decided to simply wear their travel clothes but had enjoyed some time in the springs which were in the middle of the large villa. Now that they were newly refreshed, the proceeded to the dining room. As the doors to the dining room opened seemingly by themselves, the three of them were exposed to the lavish interior. The floor was of warm maple and the walls were covered with expensive paintings.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Natsu and Cevan at the same time. Naton and Gray were silent as the other two began to run around the room in amazement.

"Look at this stuff, Naton!" yelled Cevan. Gray noticed that Cevan seemed to be much like Natsu now that he was more familiar with them around. Gray turned to Naton.

"Is Cevan typically like that?" asked Gray.

"Yeah. Usually he is getting me in trouble."

"How so?"

"He is absolutely obsessed with his girlfriend. It tends to get in the way with the mission at times."

"Girlfriend? Who is his girlfriend?"

"Bev." Gray's eyes went wide.

"Bev? Really? Wow I never would have thought so."

"You haven't seen them together often. They go crazy at times." This got a smile from Gray as they sat down and the other two managed to finally sit down as well. Mr. Tuddles waltzed into the room several minutes later and took his spot at the head of the table. 

"I must thank you again for taking this job. Most others have declined me instantly."

"Why is that?" asked Gray.

"Well most people around here aren't mages. They typically are just farmers. Innocentius was the only nearby guild which would take my mission seriously."

"Defending an heirloom during a party? Why would that be out of line?" asked Natsu.

"My heirloom is my house," said Mr. Tuddles in a perky manner. Everyone looked at him in shock.

"You're house?" asked Natsu, "Why would someone want to steal your house?"

"I don't know," said Mr. Tuddles, "but I don't want to risk it happening now, do I?"

"I guess I can't argue against that," said Gray, "but what exactly would you want us to do during the whole ordeal. Stand in front of the house the whole time?"

"Oh, no. You can enjoy yourself to your hearts content. Just make sure no one takes my house."

"I'm pretty sure no one can just take a house," said Cevan.

"You'd be surprised," said Mr. Tuddles in a voice that seemed to have a hint of darkness in it, "but let's not worry about that until we start our great party," finished Mr. Tuddles in his cheery voice once more.

The night finally came and the four mages were squeezed into their formal wear. All four of them wore traditional mage robes which were overflowing their thin frames, and instantly had them sweating. Natsu was in a crimson red robe with an elaborate belt with a buckle of gold. The robe was covered with numerous golden engravings and it swept around Natsu's ankles. He looked extremely uncomfortable. Gray was in a similar robe but of a deep shade of blue and covered with silver engravings in place of the gold. Naton wore green and Cevan wore orange. Cevan seemed to be the only one enjoying his robes.

"Dude these are awesome!" yelled Cevan to Naton. Naton let out a moan and wiped his forehead.

"I feel like an idiot," said Natsu.

"You look fab-u-lous," said Mr. Tuddles, "and I need you looking so for my guests. Now don't you have too much of the wine or someone might take my house right from under your adorable little noses." The four mages looked at Tuddles awkwardly before they all agreed. Mr. Tuddles let off a beaming smile and frolicked towards his new guests.

"He creeps me out," said Gray.

"Yeah. He's got some problems with his head," replied Natsu.

"Well, we're gonna be here a while. Let's get comfortable at least," said Naton. Cevan was still on his feet and continued to make his robe swirl as the others sat down next to the drinks table. As the party continued for hours and hours, the four mages quickly grew even more bored. Gray continued to throw glances at the sweating Natsu and kept his stare hidden. Natsu was so uncomfortable that he probably wouldn't have noticed Gray's continuous gaze even if he was looking for it. Suddenly Gray noticed that Cevan had fallen asleep and Naton was not too far behind. Naton was clearly struggling to stay awake but this was not from boredom. Gray found his own eyes starting to become heavy and it wasn't until then that he noticed the room was deserted. How long had they been the only ones in the room? How long? Natsu's head fell to the table and hit with a loud crack. Naton looked to Gray.

"Some…thing….wrong…" was all Naton managed to say before his head fell to the table as well. Gray's head fell to the table but he had not lost consciousness yet. He then heard footsteps coming from behind and they then noticed that the footsteps sounded familiar. The pattern was light and joyous.

"My mages, you have come at just the right time. The real festivities are about to begin, and we can't start without the main course."

(Please review. I have just finished school and I intend to finish this story in the next week or so. Reviews keep me going and wanting to make the story all the more interesting so please review and I will do my best to please you.)


	9. Life of the Party

(Please rewiew)

Gray did his best to regain control of his body but could not move it. Mr. Tuddles' guests entered the room behind him and seemed as normal as ever. What could Tuddles mean? The main course?

"Do pardon their currently ugly appearances. The other folk in town don't exactly approve their true selves. The tuxedos and party dresses of the guests began to rip as the forms of the guests began to change. They grew hair on their faces and their teeth grew into fierce fangs. Mr. Tuddles continued to prance through the room as his guests began to transform into wolf like beings. Werewolves? How? Mr. Tuddles let out a high pitched laugh and grabbed Naton and Cevan before throwing their useless bodies to the cold stone floor in the middle of the circle of werewolf guests.

W-what…do…y-y-you…w-w-want?" Gray managed to slur out of his useless lips.

"It's not what I want, my dear friends. It's what they want. They are all lifelong friends and I do like to please my friends." A werewolf approached the unmoving Cevan with its fangs dripping with saliva. With one swift motion, the werewolf took a chunk of flesh from Cevan's arm. Blood spurted from the wound and spilled onto the floor between Cevan and Naton. The wolves began to howl in delight before they approached the new forms. Suddenly the doors opened and in flew Happy with Natsu's vest.

"Natsu! You forgot your…" shouted Happy before he suddenly saw what was going on. Mr. Tuddles stared at Happy and let out a sigh of annoyance.

"I don't remember inviting you to my party. Also have you never heard of 'knock first'?"

"R-run…Happy!" Gray shouted the best he could. Happy was motionless for a few seconds before one of the werewolves ran at Happy with amazing speed. Happy's face became enraged and he flew over the claws of the attacker and charged Tuddles. Tuddles waved his hand and two more werewolves charged Happy but Happy went full speed and collided into the chest of one of the wolves. There was a fierce crack as the werewolf fell to the floor and roared in pain as Happy continued right through to Tuddles. Tuddles leapt out of the way in a nimble fashion and his glare followed Happy. Gray suddenly felt his body become his own once more and Cevan let out a fierce roar of pain as the blood continued to flow from his shoulder. Natsu quickly got to his feet and assessed the situation. Naton was struggling to his feet but quickly grew enraged when he saw Cevan's wound. The werewolves charged the four mages as Happy continued to hold Tuddles' gaze.

"You hurt Cevan…" said Naton in an enraged low tone. With a swift motion of his hands, rocks formed in his arm as the shape of large hammers. One werewolf charged Naton but was swiftly met with a hard slam from both rock hammers and was crushed to nothing but blood and mush. Another werewolf charged Naton and Naton swung his left hammer at it but it caught the hammer. Naton swung with his other arm but a second werewolf came from his right and bit Naton right in the arm, causing warm blood to spill from the fresh wound. Gray swung his hands.

"Ice Make: Lance!" Gray shouted before spears of ice shot out of his hands and impaled the two werewolves attacking Naton. Cevan managed to get to his feet but was severely hurt. Naton rushed over, ignoring his own wound but several more werewolves cut them off.

"You are ruining my party!" called an infuriated voice. They all identified it as Tuddles. The werewolves continued to charge as rock, ice, and flame shot through the air and into the enemy. Natsu was punching werewolves in the face with fistfuls of fire and was managing to hold off his attackers but with great effort. Cevan raised his good arm.

"Wood Make: Saw!" shouted Cevan and a long beam of wood encased his arm and formed into a rapidly spinning saw. With a long spinning arch, he cut several werewolves in half but it clearly was draining him of magic and energy quickly. The remaining twenty werewolves backed off as the four mages struggled to catch their breath. Happy flew over the four mages and Tuddles moved in front of the line of werewolves.

"That is quite impressive, my little darlings. You have hurt my guests and we don't like that at all. You have been very naughty." Tuddles let off a glowing smile as suddenly Cevan and Naton fell to the ground in agony and grabbed their wounds. Gray quickly checked on Naton and Natsu on Cevan, "I'd say they have only a few days before they join my troupe." Natsu's face became red with anger and flames shot from his body.

"CHANGE THEM BACK!" he shouted and flames cascaded throughout the room and burned several werewolves but seemed to have no effect on Tuddles.

"I knew you were the one with the temper. You have that hot head look in your body. Natsu reached up and ripped the sleeves of his mage robes off and his arms became fully engulfed in flames, "Oh darn you! I worked so hard on those!"

"I'm gonna take you out, you bitch!" shouted Natsu as he charged Tuddles. The werewolves howled as Tuddles raised his hand and Natsu passed right through Tuddles. Tuddles swung his other arm and a fierce cyclone of wind shot from his hand and collided into Natsu. Natsu crashed along the ground before he was in the group of werewolves. The wolves quickly went at Natsu and got several bites in before Tuddles called them off. Gray looked at Happy.

"Happy! Get help!" The wolves quickly charged Gray as he was distracted. Gray managed to fight off a few as Happy flew out of the mansion but was soon overtaken and several fierce chunks of flesh were ripped from Gray's bones.

Natsu and Gray were thrown in the middle of the circle of werewolves along with Cevan and Naton. Tuddles' beaming smile never left as his werewolf friends panted in hunger. Gray and Natsu suddenly let out screams of pain like Naton and Cevan before they began to writhe in pain as well. Tuddles' face showed delighted disappointment.

"I knew you four were too cute to keep as food so we have no choice now. Your blood is no longer fresh. Don't worry, once the pain of the transformation is over, you will love being with us. Don't be afraid. We don't bite." This got a huge laugh out of Tuddles as the four of them continued to scream in agony. Tuddles let out a sigh, "They won't change for a few days, and that flying cat will surely bring more to help them. Don't have so much faith in your friends," as Tuddles spoke, the dead werewolves began to slowly form back together and let out howls as they reformed, "they are quite difficult to kill. We will see what happens with your support party. But before I let you turn into one of my wolf friends, I'd like some time alone with one of you." With only a few seconds of contemplation, Tuddles motioned to Cevan and several werewolves picked him up and carried him away. Naton struggled to crawl after him but was only met with one of Tuddles' shoes to his nose, which knocked him out. Gray and Natsu passed out from the pain several seconds later.

(Please review)


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